North vs South: The Lead-up to Civil War
Among the causes of the American Civil War (1861-1865) were the many decisions made by politicians
between 1845 and 1861, which resulted ultimately in the South seceding from the United States.
In this exercise, we will be studying these decisions and assessing how the interests of the North or the
South, benefited or were injured by each, and ultimately which side had gained the most prior to the
outbreak of the Civil War.
Directions:
- Examine the maps and handouts. Compare each with the original Missouri Compromise line, look at the
balance of northern and southern states on each, and where slavery can or cannot spread
- Then assess each of the events and weigh the evidence for each. Put a + sign for each event
that helps the northern or southern section, and a - sign if an event hurts that section and EXPLAIN WHY
- For some events, like the Compromise of 1850, there is more then one event to take into account
For each of the following events, consider the following:
1. Affect on Congress – The Balance in the Senate (Free vs. Slave, North vs. South)
The Senate is where all states are equal no matter what the population: 2 senators from every state
 Before the Civil War, the Senate tried to maintain an equal number “free states” (north) and
“slave states” (south) in the Senate was preserved to prevent either side from becoming more
powerful than the other
 Each time a state was added, its constitution’s position on slavery would impact that balance
(see Missouri Compromise below)
2. Affect on the spread of slavery
 Issue 1: Missouri Compromise
of 1820




Maine entered the Union as a
Free State; Missouri as a Slave
State
All territory north of the line 36°
30’ N was free from slavery
(except, of course, Missouri)
All territory south of the line 36°
30’ N was open to slavery
Issue decided by Congress
DO: on this map, extend
the Missouri Compromise
Line west to the Pacific
Ocean!
Issue 2: Popular sovereignty in the 1850s allowed the people of a territory to decide the issue of
slavery themselves
 Idea that essentially replaced the Missouri Compromise between 1850 and 1860
 In areas that had been closed to slavery by the Missouri Compromise, popular sovereignty
allowed the possibility the territory would become open to slavery, a plus for the south
 Once this authority was handed over to the people, Congress could do little to control the issue
of slavery in the territories
Part One. In the space below define or explain the key points each of the following:

The Missouri Compromise

Annexation of Texas (1845)

US War with Mexico / Mexican Cession (1846-1848)

California Gold Rush (1849)

Compromise of 1850

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Dred Scott v. Sandford (Dred Scott Decision 1857)

Election of 1860
Name______________________________________ Class _______ Date ________________________
On the chart below, explain how each decision affected the balance on the Senate and the restriction of or
spread of slavery under the Missouri Compromise and/or Popular Sovereignty and list in each box
 For each entry, add a + if the decision had a positive effect, and - if it had a negative effect
South
North
Missouri Compromise
Missouri Compromise
Annexation of Texas
Annexation of Texas
Mexican Cession
Mexican Cession
California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
Gadsden Purchase
Gadsden Purchase
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Dred Scott Decision 1857
Dred Scott Decision 1857
Election of 1860
Election of 1860
Key Points (Part One):
Missouri Compromise (1820)
o Missouri – enters Union as a “slave” state:
Keeps the balance of free and slave states in the Senate
o Maine - enters Union as a “free” state:
o All US territories north of the 36° 30´ N line: No slavery allowed
o All US territories south of the 36° 30´ N line: Slavery allowed
Annexation of Texas (1845)
o Texas was joined to the United States (became the 28th state)
o Mexico considered that Texas was part of Mexico
War with Mexico / Mexican Cession (1846-1848)
o US War with Mexico over the boundary between Texas and Mexico
o US defeated Mexico
o Mexican Cession: were the lands won by the US from Mexico
California Gold Rush (1849)
o Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill and hundreds of thousands of people rushed
to California to find gold
o Within a year, CA population exceeded 60,000; CA applies for statehood
Compromise of 1850
o California – to enter the Union as a free state
o New Mexico, Utah territories, would enter Union by popular sovereignty
o Foreign slave trade in Washington D.C – ended
o Stronger fugitive slave (runaway slave) law passed
Gadsden Purchase (1853)
o Land bought from Mexico for a transcontinental railroad
o Congress divided over a northern route or a southern route; issue was not settled
before the Civil War
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
o Allowed popular sovereignty or the people of the territories of Kansas &
Nebraska decide if they wanted slavery or not
Dred Scott v. Sandford (Dred Scott Decision 1857)
o Slaves were not citizens
o Living in/moving to a “free” state did not make slaves free
o The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional; Congress could not ban slavery
in the territories
Election of 1860
o November: Abraham Lincoln captured the presidency without a single electoral
vote from the South
o December: The Lower South begins seceding, formed the Confederate States of America